Of course, it's the desert. Out of the five regions we could have been in, we had to enter here. Since everyone knows what to do, we set off. I'll stay with the team for a bit. I want to make sure they don't get ganked right off the bat.

We dispatched another team on the way to the stage before we split up.

Val and I are on Duchess' back as I feed her my stats to make her faster. We leave the desert and the rest of the team. Just by leaving them Khan, he gives them a huge advantage since he is an intimidating presence to go against. More importantly, I can safely leave them in the hands of Flash Gordon.

I wanted to go to the forest, but the closest biome was the ruined city. It takes a few minutes to reach the city. The sounds of fighting. Swords and shields are clashing as spells combust. A mage surrounded by five armed warriors is flying around as a group of archers try to shoot them down.

A tiger beast leaps from a rooftop, trying to take Duchess down to the ground with them. She uses her [Telekinesis] and slams the tiger to the floor. Val lets an arrow fly, taking down the tamer that sent the kitty.

I see the stage, and it's being contested by two teams, one of which is the nudist, Kosta. His teammates are all martial artists, but they are appropriately dressed. I take my stats back and mentally tell Duchess to stay up high and act as air support. Don't be afraid to talk to Val if need be. If it gets dicey, come to me.

I jump off Duchess and land right in the middle of the pack.

~

The stage is quite literally a hill. Its walls are curved into a flat top that can hold ten fighting people comfortably. I land feet first on a martial artist, breaking both his shoulders and sending him straight out of the game.

"Hey! It's you!" Kosta is not disheartened by the fact that his friend got eliminated but is happy that I'm in the fight now. A mage on the other team casts a spell that makes Kosta's team dodge in anticipation. A streak of lightning shoots out from him and lands directly on my chest.

-330

(-80)

[Resistance: Lightning 100 > 106 (206)]

Oh neat! Gaining resistance ignores my added stats from [Iron Hide].

The mage stifles a yelp after getting hit by reflected damage. Kosta seems impressed by my defenses, but that doesn't matter. He's on my hill.

My barbed sword rips out of my palm, spraying blood all over the hill. I leap at one of the mage's allies, a frontline tank with a shield as larger as his body. I jump off the hunk of metal and try to go for the mage.

I get met mid-air by a swordsman. He swings his sword at my skull as I swing wildly.

-0

(-48)

-790

The swordsman must be an agility fighter since he didn't do enough damage to cut my face. A few strands of my hair fly as I bisect his torse in half. My sword's base damage depends on my health. Right now, it's around 400 damage. Adding stats and title bonuses, I do a shit-ton of damage.

The tank I ignored earlier comes behind and grabs me around the neck, holding me like a human shield.

"QUICK, GET HI-."

*Thud Thud Thud*

He gets silenced as multiple arrows fall and turn him into light. Rays of light rain down like heavenly punishment and destroy the mage and the rest of his team. Kosta must have great intuition since his entire team waited until the aftermath to contest the hill again.

I check the skies and see Duchess twisting in the air, dodging spells and arrows. She deflects projectiles with her mind as Val has the time of her life, riding recklessly and shooting arrows.

"Ellis, the Bluefield captain. Should've mentioned how brutal you were. We would have long become friends."

Kosta, still uninjured, walks with his team behind him. They should've stayed off my hill.

I fling my sword at one of the martial artists, but it gets deflected by some palm technique. My blade flies off to the side. There are only five of them, and no one from both teams was eliminated when I got here.

Two twin martial artists jump at me, curving in the air to flank me. I hop back, but they still follow me in the air.

Right before impact, I hunker down and last out with my fist aimed at each one. My fists clashed with theirs, and nothing happened. They used the attack to fly back next to their team.

"Cloud stepping arts," Kosta says. Like that helps.

I run at them, but the fattest martial artist in the group steps in front and tries to block me.

"IRON BELLY."

Why is he yelling the technique? He got into a horse stance and put his arms on his hips like he had two handles. I Sacrifice a thousand health and kick him in the balls.

*CRACK POP*

Critical Hit!

-2350!

"AHHHHH"

His entire body jiggles from the crotch up before e drops to the ground screaming and clutching his family's jewels. He didn't wear a cup, a rookie mistake. He isn't out of the tournament yet, so I punch him in the back of the head before the rest of the team can recover from what they just saw. Hopefully, the healers can help his future.

"Holy shit, dude. Foul."

I noticed that this team doesn't actually use magic items, just their skills. Respectable but foolish.

"If you aren't prepared to fight to win, then you aren't prepared to win. This is a sports meet. Fight me or get off my hill."

My words harden the resolves of my enemies. The remaining four spring out to attack me. The twins are the first to reach me. I learned from last time. When our bodies meet, I used [Bramble Blade] to wrap them in vines, restraining them for the time being.

"Bouncing Palm!"

-250

(-90}

[Resistance: Force 250 > 252 (352)]

I got slapped on the back and got launched toward Kosta. He catches me by the neck and slams me to the ground. He kneels on my arms and starts repeatedly punching my face.

*BAM BAM BAM*

Blood covers my face, but it isn't mine. His attacks don't pierce my resistance, and the reflection is ripping his knuckles to shred."

"Pant, pant. Who's your master? Is it master Johan of the thorny body, or is it the legendary unnamed master of the immortal form?"

"Nah, it's Wang."

"Who?"

I can't move my arms because he's stronger than me. I also can't find tractions with my feet, so I do the only I can. I bend my body up as much as I can and bite this guy's side as hard as I can. My teeth are a part of my body and are affected by my resistance, so they're unnaturally resilient. I don't need to worry about accidentally shattering them. They sink into the sculpted muscles like a knife through butter.

"AHH, FUCK. What are you an ANIMAL?"

I rip off a chunk of flesh and spit it at his face. Blood pours out of the damage and stains my teeth. It's disgusting. My attack gives me enough space to wiggle one of my arms free and jab my fist into his bleeding wound.

"RAAA!"

I ignore his screams of pain and jam my fingers further.

"BOUNCING HEEL! Get off him, captain!"

-250

(-90}

I get kicked in the head, and my eyes roll around my head. I grab Kosta's leg with my prosthetic arm and use all the strength in my legs to stand up with him stuck to me. Kosta keeps punching me, but nothing changes.

"Why don't you use skills, Kosta?"

Kosta tries to jab his thumbs in my eyes, but I look up, causing him to break his fingers on my cheeks.

"HAHAHA! WHY WOULD I. Skills make things boring, this is exhilarating! Hurt me more, boy. Make my body beautiful!"

I almost dropped him there, but he wrapped his legs around my waist. Master Wang would like this guy.

"BOUNCING-"

I hear that dumbass behind me, so I stamp on his foot and headbutt his jaw, causing him to bite his tongue. He recoils back, but his foot is still under mine. I quickly saw that the wonder twins were gone, but their bindings were intact where I saw them last.

[It was thisss one. Hold out your hand, master.]

I rip my hand out of Kosta's wound as he yells in pain. His back arches. At least he isn't moaning. My sword flies into my hand as I backslash the "bouncing" martial artist. He barely managed to dodge, but he couldn't stop a couple arrows. He turns to light.

Kosta hasn't stopped attacking me. His knuckles have been ground to the bone. He pauses to pinch my cheek and tells me, "You're eyes are beautiful. What do I need to do to get eyes like yours?"

His eyes are bloodshot and wide open. They radiate pain and joy. His teeth take up most of his face as he speaks to me. His hairless body is stained with his blood, and he loves it.

"They hold so much emotion. Disgust and pride being over shadowed by boredom. You wouldn't care if I actually died here!"

I plant my sword in his sternum and send him out of the game.

~

Bodily fluids don't turn into the light once it's out of the body. I'm covered in blood again.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know your snake can-."

"Of course."

"Oh."

"Hey, Val."

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you leave the hill to me and see how the rest of the team is doing. Take Duchess with you."

"Good call. We should see if Jerry and the others followed the plan or if they got eliminated... You know mom and dad are spectating the fight. Right? Your fighting style is quite something."

"Fly safe."

[Thisss one had to speak to your kin to cooperate in the skies.]

It's fine. Stay safe as well. Tell Val to not blab or anything since an audience could be listening.

Maybe that's why those martial artists were saying their technique. It would be free publicity.

Ten minutes later, Duchess and Val have met up with the others or are currently battling for a stage. Battles naturally broke out around the city as teams found each other, but now most of the weaklings should be gone. The teams left should be licking their wounds and preparing to take MY spot.

Another arrow hits my chest. It deals some damage to me and falls to the ground. I kick it into the pile I made in front of me. I wonder who keeps shooting me? It should be hurting them more than it hurts me. How many arrows do they have? A little after Duchess and Val left, an archer started harassing me.

There must be a healer next to them if they are this consistent. At least they are making my resistance higher.

[Resistance: Piercing 300 > 320 (420)]

If they did more damage, it would be higher. Pity. I make an okay sign above my heart and use my other hand to gesture. I'm bored and trying to taunt this guy or play a game with him.

Another arrow flies out and hits me right on the forehead. Alright, this guy is no fun. I kick it into the pile.